Longines Watches

History of Longines

Established in 1832 at Saint-Imier in the heart of Switzerland, the founder of Longines, Auguste Agassiz took his first steps into the world of horology. Starting in a trading office in the Swiss town, he rose to success quickly, renaming the company in his honour – Agassiz & Co. Building relationships with commercial clients both local and across the continents, Auguste created a strong network allowing him to sell his hand-crafted watches. Joined by his nephew, Ernest Francillon, during the 1850s, the company took on new intentions as the pair considered way of perfecting the manufacturing methods used in watchmaking in the area.

The combination of Agassiz’s unparalleled watchmaking knowledge and Francillon’s motivation to push forward the manufacturing boundaries, resulted in the pair purchasing two adjoining pieces of land in 1866 on the right bank of the River Suze. The location was locally known as ‘Les Longines’ and Francillon adopted this name for the factory he built there a year later.

Deciding to keep the tradition of the business being family run, Ernest Francillon took on another relation, Jacques David, who helped with the development process used to perfect the manufacture of timepieces. Proving to be a successful combination, the business-minded pair rocketed in success and by 1911 the Longines factory employed over 1,100 workers, selling their products worldwide.

In 1889, Francillon patented the iconic trademark comprising of the name Longines, and the infamous winged hourglass logo. The quality and innovative design of the Longines brand has endured the test of time, it’s highly recognisable logo now symbolising the guaranteed, reputable quality of the timepieces produced by the brand. Today, the logo is the oldest trademark still in use in its original form, its presence in the company can be seen as early as 1867. Although the brands undisputable, meticulous quality and trademark have remained the same throughout the years, Longines have continually moved forward – innovating and evolving their visionary timepieces.

In recent years, the brand have many years of experience as a timekeeper for world championships in sport under their belt, and have formed lasting relationships as a partner of international sporting federations; a member of the Swatch Group Ltd, Longines now has outlets in over 140 countries globally. Confident and gracious in their success, the brand’s strong devotion to tradition, elegance and performance are all contributing factors to their overwhelming accomplishments.

Highlights

Collections

Longines’ timepieces are divided into 4 definitive categories: Elegance, Watchmaking Tradition, Sport and Heritage – each collection embodying different features which demonstrate the diverse skill and appeal of the brand to all personalities and preferences.

The Elegance collection is a blend of timeless and contemporary design. The sleek stainless steel watches adorned with diamonds and mother of pearl dials give the selection an effortlessly, chic attraction. Across the collection there’s a whole assortment of shapes, colours and styles, each exuding a confidently, elegant aura that’s unmistakably synonymous to the brand.

A complete contrast in design, Longines’ Sport collection features an array of sophisticated timepieces with more robust and durable qualities to them, for those who lead a more extreme or active lifestyle. The latest range of ‘Conquest’ watches are a shining example of the brands innovative design concepts – crafted from stainless steel and finished in muted tones with striking accents of red and blue, the range encapsulates the modern and quintessential expression of the brand’s sporting elegance.